Sept 29 — Many US Olympic athletes striving for gold in Sydney, Australia, will be using a secret weapon to help achieve their goals — chiropractic care. Many athletes use chiropractic not only for rehabilitation purposes, but also because they feel it gives them an edge in their competitions.

Dr. Andrew Klein, the official chiropractor for the 2000 US Olympic medical staff, identified a key reason why athletes have taken to chiropractic: it keeps them in top shape without the use of drugs. “Athletes have come to rely on manual therapy because the list of banned substances (for the Olympics) is so long, and also because they feel it enhances their performance.”

Nicole Freedman of Stanford, California, qualified for the 2000 US Olympic squad as a cyclist at the Olympic Team trials in Jackson, Mississippi, after being adjusted by American Chiropractic Association’s (ACA’s) Mississippi delegate Dr. Alfred Norville. Freedman penned a note to Dr. Norville, thanking him for his “winning adjustment.” Dr. Norville explained, “[Freedman] told me that she thought she needed an adjustment to be at her peak [performance level]. So I gave her an adjustment, and she went on to qualify for the Olympics.”

Dr. Jan Corwin, a past president of ACA’s Council on Sports Injuries and Physical Fitness, became the first doctor of chiropractic to travel overseas with the US Olympic Team in 1988, when he represented the chiropractic profession in Seoul, Korea. The athletes in Seoul were delighted with the chiropractic care they received.

Dr. Corwin said, “They were totally into it. I had so many patients while I was there, I didn’t even have time to eat. By the time I left Seoul I had lost 12 pounds.” Dr. Corwin went on to say, “At least 50% to 75% of all the athletes I treated had prior chiropractic care and were very aware of the benefits of chiropractic to them as athletes.” He suggested that chiropractic care “has been so successfully appreciated and received by the athletes because of all the chiropractors around the country who have been doing such a great job with the athletes in their offices on a daily basis.”

The roster of Olympic athletes who have benefited from chiropractic care is truly impressive. Star performers such as Carl Lewis, Greg Louganis, Willi Banks, Edwin Moses, and countless other greats from previous Olympics have taken advantage of chiropractic in order to get a leg up on their competition.

ACA member Dr. Steven Horwitz served as the chiropractic physician for the U.S. Olympic medical staff at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. Dr. Horwitz found his helping the athletes and the appreciation they showed for his work to be the most rewarding elements about the time he gave to the U.S. team. Sheila Taormina, 1996 U.S. Swimming 4×200 gold medallist, and Marisa Pedulla of the U.S. Judo Team, each took the time to write to Dr. Horwitz and thank him for the care he gave them. He explained that the athletes in Atlanta were so excited about the chiropractic care available to them that, “They wanted to be sure I was there for the American athletes only.” They said to him, “We fought hard to get you here, and we don’t want to give an advantage to the other athletes.”